Welcome to the Mr. Local History Project
“A 501c3 Non-Profit Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Jersey History with a Social Twist”
The Mr. Local History Project brings New Jersey’s past into the present through the stories of real places, real people, and real communities. Focused especially on New Jersey history, the project celebrates local history in a way that feels personal, engaging, and relevant- not something locked away in textbooks, but history that lives where we live. As we head into 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, Mr. Local History is turning history into a shared experience. With a social twist, this is about connecting online and in the community, sharing memories, spotlighting hometown stories, and honoring New Jersey’s outsized role in America’s founding. It is history you can explore, share, and be part of together.
Today in America’s History (We Update Every Day)
- 1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sights land near St. Augustine, Florida and founds the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental United States.
- 1609: Henry Hudson discovers Delaware Bay.
- 1830: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's new Tom Thumb steam locomotive races a horse-drawn car, presaging steam's role in U.S. railroads.
- 1862: American Civil War: The Second Battle of Bull Run, also known as the Battle of Second Manassas, begins in Virginia. The battle ends on August 30 with another Union defeat.
- 1867: The United States takes possession of the (at this point unoccupied) Midway Atoll.
- 1917: Ten suffragists, members of the Silent Sentinels, are arrested while picketing the White House in favor of women's suffrage in the United States.
- 1957: U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond begins a filibuster to prevent the United States Senate from voting on the Civil Rights Act of 1957; he stopped speaking 24 hours and 18 minutes later. This would remain the longest speech ever conducted by a single Senator until Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours and five minutes, beginning on March 31, 2025.
- 1964: The Philadelphia race riot begins.
What Can You Do Today to Celebrate America’s 250th?
Our Readers’ Top 10 MLH Posts this Week
Latest Posts
Then & Now: Post 9/11-Somerset Hills Family, Friends and Neighbors & Their Legacy
Views: 33,393 Twenty-five years ago on September 11, 2001, we lost friends, family, neighbors, and loved ones in a tragedy that changed our nation forever. Their absence is felt every day, yet in the years since that heartbreaking morning, we…
“The Frippery” Thrift Store Extraordinaire is a Watchung Historic Gem
Views: 210 For Over Half a Century, the Frippery is Watchung’s Original Treasure Hunt Long before thrift shopping became trendy, generations of bargain hunters were already climbing the stairs and rummaging through the shelves at one of Watchung’s best-known hidden…
Washington’s Rev War Fortress – It Was New Jersey Itself
Views: 305 Washington Didn’t Build His Fortress. New Jersey Did. So we start by coining a phrase, one that defines what we think Washington knew all along. A geological fortress is not an artificial fort of stone walls, towers, and…
Donate Today and Get a Great Gift: 2026 US Mint RevWar 250 Quarters Collectible Pack
Views: 188 Minimum donation: $25, but feel free to donate at any of the levels below. Your contribution is TAX DEDUCTIBLE. We only have a limited supply of these great keepsakes, so act fast. First come, first reserved, while supplies…
Revolutionary Crawls Brings Its One-of-a-Kind Historical Experience to Bernardsville
Views: 463 History is marching into Bernardsville, and Mr Local History is joining the procession! MARK YOUR CALENDAR:On Saturday, October 10, 2026, Revolutionary Crawls & Events will make its Bernardsville debut with an immersive Revolutionary Pub Crawl through the heart…
Crane Farm: The Little Farm Stand Preserves Basking Ridge’s Farming Past
Views: 1,304 RUMOR CONFIRMED:As Crane Farm approaches another turning point, word has begun circulating that Tyson and Doris Mertz are retiring October 31, 2026 and will not be renewing their lease with Somerset County. The Mertzes have not owned the…
Mashing Crime History to Maps and Apps
Views: 6,361 Imagine relocating to a city or state where you have no family or friends to help you evaluate different neighborhoods. You can easily compare home prices, property taxes, schools, commute times, restaurants, and traffic. But finding reliable, current,t…
Meandering Basking Ridge’s Newest Largest Lake – The Millington Quarry
Views: 2,109 The Millington Quarry property in the Millington section of Bernards Township is one of the largest former industrial sites in Somerset County and has been the focus of redevelopment discussions for more than a decade. Covering approximately 180…
Noe Pond & the Browers- Chatham’s Swim Club People Remember
Views: 961 Noe Pond began as a natural, spring-fed farm pond on the Noe family’s roughly 800-acre property in Chatham Township. Dating to before the Revolutionary War, the pond supplied water to the family’s dairy farm, rose greenhouses, and surrounding…
Millington’s Millridge Swim Club Bulldozed Back into the Great Swamp Landscape
Views: 213 Before the Millridge Swim Club existed, it was known as Reggie’s Playland Farm, and we found a strange real estate listing from 2002 that read: This story is part of the Mr. Local History Project’s New Jersey Swim…
Westfield’s Rialto Theater History and Next Chapter
Views: 115 UPDATE: A New Life for Westfield’s Rialto After sitting largely dormant since closing as a movie theater in 2019, Westfield’s historic Rialto is now headed toward a major rebirth. In July 2026, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority…
Our Summer 2026 Magazine is HERE!
Full of great local Jersey History to keep you on the edge of your history seat.
Special Edition – America’s 250th The SEMI-QUIN-CENTENNIAL is HERE!
See our special digital magazine. Full of great local Jersey History.